Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary didn't hesitate to drop cult hero Mahe Fonua despite his blockbuster man-of-the-match effort last week in the win over North Queensland.
Fonua will turn out for the Western Suburbs Magpies against Penrith's reserve grade side at North Sydney Oval on Sunday after he was axed for being an hour late to training at the weekend.
"It's disappointing, the standards are what they are," Cleary said.
"We value certain things around here and that's the way it's going to keep going."
Fonua turned in a performance littered with highlight reel moments against the Cowboys, running for 207 metres, making six tackle busts and one linebreak.
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Cleary described Fonua's indescretion as an isolated incident, but said it was an easy decision to drop him after receiving the backing of the senior playing group.
Cleary's hardline stance is representative of the culture he has cultivated at Concord and is being credited with their climb up the ladder this year.
"It's hard in the sense that you always want to pick a side on merit," Cleary said.
"But it's easy especially when you get the support of the leaders.
"The fact is values come first here."
